Staying the coarse. In my opinion the number one reason people deviate from their exercise program is not laziness, lack of time, or that its too hard. I believe that people fail at their fitness goals because of, or the lack of RESULTS and FEAR! Hey I understand, If I am going to spend all this time and energy on getting in shape I want too see results! But, what you have to understand is you didn’t get fat and out of shape overnight. Its going to take some time and dedication to get back in shape. You have to look at it this way. Exercise, eating right and staying that way is a life style change. I’m not saying that you have to give up all the foods that you love or spend hours in the gym or hours on the track. Just being a little more active and eating smaller portions will go a long way to accomplishing your fitness goals. That is where the fear come into play. Fear of totally changing your life style, fear of failure, fear of losing things that you enjoy…like beer,pizza and chocolate cake. You don’t have to give up those things unless your doctor recommends you do so. By the way you should always consult a doctor before starting an exercise plan. Get past the fear and start today and you will see result in time.

Plateau Hardly any of the pros ever talk about plateaus. You see there is a time, and this time frame differs for everyone. Where you’re body adjusts to your new routine and tries to compensate, your body is only tiring to protect its fuel source. When you dramatically decrease you calorie intake and up your activity level your body wants to store fat (your fuel), preventing you from losing weight. By reducing your calories by more than 500 calories a day makes it too hard for your body to keep a lean body mass. It takes more calories to keep muscle than fat and muscles weigh more than fat. So, when tracking your progress it makes more since to track your “body mass index” than your body weight. Use a body mass calculator at, http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/. Within seconds you can find out what your body mass index is, and were your goal should be. Remember, in order to look slim and trim your muscles have to grow and show. Try to keep your calories just below maintenance level. You can calculate the number of calories you need to maintain your weight at http://exercise.about.com/cs/fitnesstools/l/blcalorieburn.htm.

Varying your work out. Another little known fact is, your muscles have memory. Yes your muscles can remember how to do certain task or exercise. This can be a good thing or a bad thing. Let’s talk about the bad news first. Like a computer your body will send just the right amount of fuel (calories) to the muscle groups in question and it is a very efficient machine. That’s the bad news. You see if you do the same exercise day in and day out your body becomes a custom to that particular activity and you hit yet another plateau. The good news is that same muscle memory can be reprogrammed. You can reprogram your body and muscles groups by changing up your routine. “Why does this work?” You may ask. Look at it this way. When you have mastered a task that you have done a million time, it becomes simple to you and there is relatively little thought given to said task. Am I Right? It’s much harder and requires more energy to learn a new task…with me so far? What we are tiring to do is keep your body guessing. Your body uses more energy learning a new task which will avoid deep muscle memory.

Upping the bar In order to improve on anything, you must set the bar somewhere right? Whether it is how fast a car goes or how much weight you want to lose, you need a reference level. How much do I weigh today? It also helps to have someone or something to monitor your progress as it happens. Certain tools come to mind such as a simple note book or journal to keep track of things like; how far did I walk or run today? What am I going to do tomorrow? How many “push ups” did I do today, “sit ups?” etc. If you keep your focus on these types of goals it becomes a whole lot easier to get in shape. If you don’t think you have the discipline to write these things down, there are products out there that will keep track for you. Such as step counter or GPS heart monitors that give you exactly recounts of your run. GPS heart monitors measuring things like distance ran, heart rate, the amount of time you spent at your target heart rate goal, the list goes on and on. My point is, in order to improve you have to know where you started and how far you have gone, so that tomorrow you can do just a little bit more improving.

Well that’s all I have for now. I hope that you can find some use for this article. Take one day at a time, one step at a time and you will get to all your fitness goals… I’m pulling for you! Thanks for reading. Matt

Learn more about lifecore elliptical trainers. Stop by Matt Closson’s site where you can find out all about home elliptical for under $1000 and what it can do for you.

Low or no “impact” Elliptical trainers are considered a low impact exercise, when truly there are a “no impact” exercise considering your feet never leave the peddles, they never leave the peddles then there is no chance for an impact. Make sense doesn’t it?

This is a tremendous benefit for those you suffer from ankle, knee, hip, and back problems. With the smooth natural walking motion, this exercise can lead to stronger bones and prevent joint jarring injuries.

Total body work out. Variety of work outs, more work out less effort. The models that include hand or arm levers also aid in working the arms, chest and back. Providing you with a total body work out. Be sure to select models that have sample or preset routines already programmed into the machine its self. This will prevent reputation and boredom, a leading cause of failed exercise programs. An elliptical trainer gives you calorie burning rivaling that of a good run or a jog, with the feeling of having just gone on a brisk walk.

Do you have a small place? No worries, a club class elliptical trainer can fit in many places a treadmill can’t. With the advancement of strong light weight materials they don’t weigh very much and are usually designed to be moved by on person. Try moving a treadmill by yourself. Many well built club class elliptical trainers can be bought for under $1000 and shipped to you for free. (make sure shipping is included in your price)

For me, it really is a no-brainer. For the cost, ease of use, space needed, and the over all body work out. I suggest you buy an elliptical trainer for your fitness goals.

Get all of the information and where to buy an Elliptical trainers please visit www.squidoo.com/LifecoreLC-985VGEllipticalTrainer